“I want you to take me home.”
He finally glanced over at me. “What do you think I’m doing?”
There were so many ways I could answer that. “You’re kidnapping me,” I seethed.
“I’m stealing you, taking you far away from everything you’ve ever known. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes!”
He laughed like I’d said something funny. “You aren’t entirely wrong. I am taking you somewhere far away, but it isn’t kidnapping. I can’t steal something that’s always been mine.”
“You won’t get away with this,” I monotoned.
“Bella, I already have and trust me, this is the best thing that could have happened for you and your family.”
I swallowed around a tongue that felt too large for my mouth. What did he mean? He hated my family for him to say something like that….
This couldn’t have been a random spur of the moment decision.
I could scream and yell, but that wouldn’t stop whatever he’d put into motion. I could grab the steering wheel and potentially end it for us both but that was drastic, and I didn’t want to die.
In a car barreling down the highway, no phone or idea where the fuck we were going there was nothing I could do but wait to find out what he planned on doing with me.
I had never ridden a train boarded a plane or gone on a road trip.
It was sad the longest I’d ever been in a car and my first time out of Crudele that I could remember was because Judas forced me to leave.
When we finally got to where we were going my ass was numb and I felt drained. My stomach hurt from surviving off a hot dog and slushie. I hadn’t dared go back to sleep even when he assured me I could. Like I’d listen to anything he had to say right now. He’d threatened me with Audrey at the first gas station we went to, and then boldly got out of the car taking his fob but leaving his cell in plain view.
I automatically reached for it only to find he had a password, which was to be expected but it was worth the try. I didn’t know how to spell crazy fucking psycho in numerical code. He thought it was amusing, watching me through the window with a condescending smirk while pumping gas.
I tightened the blanket around me and peered through the windshield. He’d turned off a quiet road and onto another. As he drove further down it, I realized it was actually a driveway. The large craftsman at the end of it was completely dark with a sole porch light on.
“Who lives here?”
“For the time being, us.” He parked in front of a closed garage door and turned the car off.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?”
We’d barely spoken to one another the entire drive. I didn’t particularly want to have a long-drawn-out conversation, but I needed some kind of clarity on what was happening. I’d had hours to sit and think. I wasn’t able to figure out his endgame or understand why he would text my dad that I was coming home.
“Be patient and I’ll do better than tell you.”
He got out of the car, and I reluctantly followed his lead, bringing the plush blanket with me. I didn’t want to be here, but it felt good to be on solid ground again.
“What does that mean?” I asked, following him up the winding stone walkway.
“I’m going to show you…in a day or two.”
“You really expect me to stay here until then?”
“If you want, you can start walking back to Crudele. Audrey might be disappointed that you’re gone when she gets here and I can’t guarantee someone else won’t snatch you up, but you’re free to try.”
He entered a code on some kind of lock box and unlocked the front door.
Pushing the door open, he stepped into a darkened foyer clearly expecting me to follow.
I did.
What else was I supposed to do? I had no idea where I’d been brought and lacked all basic resources. He’d mentioned Audrey again too. I shut the door behind me and waited for my eyes to adjust to the home’s darkness. I could tell right away it wasn’t as modern age as the house back in Crudele. It had much more charm. I followed Judas to a staircase and then up the wide wooden stairs.
“You’re not forcing Audrey here too, are you?”
“I’m not.”
My frown deepened at his blunt reply. He walked down the hallway not turning on a single light. I counted three closed doors before he stopped and opened a fourth.
Peering around the doorframe I was able to see a large fourposter bed directly across from a large fireplace. The large upper windows were bare, allowing at least beams of moonlight to shine into the room.
“There’s a bathroom through the door on the side of the room. Its shared but we’re the only ones here so you can shower freely.”